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Pool Girls #1
Dive In!
Put on your sunscreen, grab a towel, and get ready to meet the Pool Girls in this all-new tween series set to make a splash!
Memorial Day weekend is finally here, and Grace Davis is having the best time at the Riverside Swim Club. (RSC to those in the know.) There are adorable swim team boys to check out, the warm sun to soak up, and her troubled friendship with a certain former best friend (ahem, Christina Cooper) to forget about. Grace can’t wait to spend the entire summer lounging poolside. There’s just one little problem—she doesn’t actually belong to RSC. Her parents say she can join if she earns the money for membership herself. With two weeks left in the school year before the summer really heats up, will Grace be able to make enough money, or will her summer be totally sunk?
Memorial Day weekend is finally here, and Grace Davis is having the best time at the Riverside Swim Club. (RSC to those in the know.) There are adorable swim team boys to check out, the warm sun to soak up, and her troubled friendship with a certain former best friend (ahem, Christina Cooper) to forget about. Grace can’t wait to spend the entire summer lounging poolside. There’s just one little problem—she doesn’t actually belong to RSC. Her parents say she can join if she earns the money for membership herself. With two weeks left in the school year before the summer really heats up, will Grace be able to make enough money, or will her summer be totally sunk?
160 pages, Paperback
First published May 1, 2012
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
December 19, 2016
Grace Davis knows how she wants to spend her summer - sitting poolside with her friend Jaci at the Riverside Swim Club! Now she just needs to earn the money to pay the membership fee so her parents will let her join. While she works a series of odd jobs, including pet sitting, she fends off nastiness from her former best friend, Christina, and tries to work up the nerve to talk to her crush, the incredibly cute Mike Morris.
Dive In! is the first book in a new summer-themed series from Simon and Schuster called Pool Girls, which will appeal mainly to girls in grades 4 to 8. The series involves most of the same issues and situations as any middle grade paperback, but it sets itself apart by introducing an unusual setting - that of a private swim club. This is the perfect setting for a series of beach reads, and it introduces a lot of possibilities for storylines that wouldn’t be possible if the story was just set in school, or at home. Like many real girls, Grace has a summer life that exists separately from her regular school life, and this book captures that idea very well.
The writing in this story was somewhat disjointed at times, and sometimes I felt like it lost track of the main plot line, which was Grace’s desire to earn money. Mike and Christina both seemed like pretty flat characters, used only as the crush and the arch-enemy, respectively, and the reader only likes or dislikes them because Grace tells us one is cute, and one is cruel.
I suspect some of the annoying exposition of this book comes about only because it is the first in the series, so future books might be somewhat more interesting now that all that background has been established. Though Dive In! isn’t as well-written as Katy Grant’s Summer Camp Secrets series, the two series do seem to share the same light mood and much of the same subject matter, so girls who are looking for something similar to Summer Camp Secrets might want to give these a shot. Parents concerned about too much boy-craziness might want to be a little wary, as Mike’s cuteness does seem to be at the forefront of Grace’s thoughts a lot of the time, but the crush is pretty tame, overall. Parents might also be pleased to know that Grace’s parents are involved in the story, and that they are the ones who insist that she earn the swim club fee herself.
Dive In! is sure to find an audience among tweens who enjoy swimming, or who just want something fun to read on summer vacation. Recommend it also to fans of The Melting of Maggie Bean, another middle grade novel about a swimmer.
Dive In! is the first book in a new summer-themed series from Simon and Schuster called Pool Girls, which will appeal mainly to girls in grades 4 to 8. The series involves most of the same issues and situations as any middle grade paperback, but it sets itself apart by introducing an unusual setting - that of a private swim club. This is the perfect setting for a series of beach reads, and it introduces a lot of possibilities for storylines that wouldn’t be possible if the story was just set in school, or at home. Like many real girls, Grace has a summer life that exists separately from her regular school life, and this book captures that idea very well.
The writing in this story was somewhat disjointed at times, and sometimes I felt like it lost track of the main plot line, which was Grace’s desire to earn money. Mike and Christina both seemed like pretty flat characters, used only as the crush and the arch-enemy, respectively, and the reader only likes or dislikes them because Grace tells us one is cute, and one is cruel.
I suspect some of the annoying exposition of this book comes about only because it is the first in the series, so future books might be somewhat more interesting now that all that background has been established. Though Dive In! isn’t as well-written as Katy Grant’s Summer Camp Secrets series, the two series do seem to share the same light mood and much of the same subject matter, so girls who are looking for something similar to Summer Camp Secrets might want to give these a shot. Parents concerned about too much boy-craziness might want to be a little wary, as Mike’s cuteness does seem to be at the forefront of Grace’s thoughts a lot of the time, but the crush is pretty tame, overall. Parents might also be pleased to know that Grace’s parents are involved in the story, and that they are the ones who insist that she earn the swim club fee herself.
Dive In! is sure to find an audience among tweens who enjoy swimming, or who just want something fun to read on summer vacation. Recommend it also to fans of The Melting of Maggie Bean, another middle grade novel about a swimmer.
May 25, 2012
I really liked how real this book seemed!
February 8, 2018
I loved this book. I was so proud of Grace for the way she handled things. I'd recommend it to any tween girl.
April 4, 2012
WATERS, Cassie. Pool Girls: Dive In!. 155p. Simon and Schuster Kids. May 2012. ISBN: 978-1-4424-4144-6. $5.99. F.
Gr 5-7
Grace Davis is trying to figure it all out at the end of seventh grade. Her grade school bestie Christina Cooper is hanging out with the cool crowd, and leaving her behind. Her other bestie Mel is going to be gone all summer long. New friend Jaci (and possible bestie?) has invited her to join the Riverside Swim Club (RSC) but her parents are making her earn the $200 membership fee. In the meantime, Grace is faced with cheating, sick dogs and snide comments at school. First in new tween series for girls with two more to come this summer, Dive In! is a story about peer pressure, the need to fit in, learning to stand up for oneself and the desire to be cool. Although the secondary characters are a little flat and sometimes unrealistic, Grace makes true-to life decisions and is a likable main character. Tweens girls will enjoy the setting and the non-preachy morals as well as the ultra cute boys. A great summer reading club book.
-Terry Ann Lawler - Phoenix Public Library, AZ.
Gr 5-7
Grace Davis is trying to figure it all out at the end of seventh grade. Her grade school bestie Christina Cooper is hanging out with the cool crowd, and leaving her behind. Her other bestie Mel is going to be gone all summer long. New friend Jaci (and possible bestie?) has invited her to join the Riverside Swim Club (RSC) but her parents are making her earn the $200 membership fee. In the meantime, Grace is faced with cheating, sick dogs and snide comments at school. First in new tween series for girls with two more to come this summer, Dive In! is a story about peer pressure, the need to fit in, learning to stand up for oneself and the desire to be cool. Although the secondary characters are a little flat and sometimes unrealistic, Grace makes true-to life decisions and is a likable main character. Tweens girls will enjoy the setting and the non-preachy morals as well as the ultra cute boys. A great summer reading club book.
-Terry Ann Lawler - Phoenix Public Library, AZ.
May 25, 2012
Really cute middle school read about a girl who wants to join her town's pool club...her parents say she can if she earns the money so she takes jobs babysitting and dog sitting. Meanwhile, she is growing away from her friend who has joined the popular crowd and learning how to stand up for herself. Made me nostalgic for those days. :)
November 1, 2013
it is a good book for people who love to do diving or in another case if you are a girly-girl.
April 5, 2013
Cassie Waters
This Book I s Very Entertaining
This Book I s Very Entertaining
July 13, 2012
An ok series. Will help young readers achieve theIr summer reading goals. A quick and easy read.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews